South Korea's ousted premier said on Thursday that he had opposed suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol's declaration of martial law, testifying for the first time at his former boss's impeachment trial about the events of a night that threw the country into turmoil.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol contested his arrest on rebellion charges in one court and pleaded to preserve his presidency in the other, both cases related to his brief imposition of martial law.

Oscar-winning director Bong Joon Ho said on Thursday he was proud of how his fellow South Koreans had overcome the fallout from impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol's short-lived imposition of martial law on December 3.

OUSTED South Korean leader Yoon Suk Yeol’s lawyer on Thursday said his bid to impose martial law was aimed at thwarting a “legislative dictatorship” by the opposition-controlled parliament, as the president became the country’s first sitting head of state to stand trial in a criminal case.

South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared in a Seoul court on Thursday for his first trial hearing on charges of insurrection in the country’s first criminal prosecution of an incumbent leader.

South Korean police are formally building a case against impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over accusations he obstructed the execution of an arrest warrant, a police spokesperson said on Friday.

South Korean police are pursuing formal charges against impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol for allegedly obstructing an arrest warrant. This follows a court-issued warrant amid insurrection accusations tied to a martial law decree.

Driven across Seoul in prison transport vehicles, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol appeared in two different courts, contesting his arrest on rebellion charges in one and pleading to preserve his presidency in the other,

Impeached South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol appeared before two courts on Thursday. His first stop at the Seoul Central District Court made him the first sitting president — he’s not yet been formally removed from office — to face criminal prosecution.